From earwax to air travel, a little something for everyone
Feb. 3, 2006

For all of you who follow the latest in earwax research, the big news comes from Japan, where researchers with nothing better to do have identified the gene that controls what type of earwax a person has.

Earwax fans (you know who you are) already know that the stuff comes in two varieties – no, not skim and two percent, but rather wet and dry. The wet stuff predominates in Africa and Europe, the dry form rules among East Asian, and South and Central Asia are roughly half and half. The rest of the world just wonders who the hell spends their time thinking about earwax.

By comparing DNA, researchers identified the gene that controls which type a person has. The gene that affects earwax is known to geneticists as the ATP-binding cassette C11 gene; it's known to non-scientists as "gross."

Also on the science front, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that researchers have determined that Teflon is a carcinogen. The good news is that the tumors it causes wash off easily with soap and warm water.
           
Happier news comes from New York, where a new company is trying to ease the nightmare of flying while seated next to a crashing bore – or, even worse, Geraldo Rivera – by helping like-minded flyers become seatmates.

Peter Shankman started AirTroductions after he spent a pleasant flight seated next to Miss Texas. His new company will give travelers a shot at a similar experience by letting them choose whom they sit next to. In other words, it's like grade school but without the booger jokes.

To use AirTroductions, travelers register online and list personal details in a profile. When they post their traveling itineraries, the registry provides information on other people taking the same flights.

For instance, if you like barbecue, then you might enjoy sitting with someone from Lockhart. Conversely, if you’re a Seahawks guy, then you might want to avoid sitting next to a Steelers fan. And if your name is Ahmad and your hobbies include flying, then you better plan on taking the bus.

One early AirTroductions subscriber said she signed up because she gets nervous when she flies, but "If I'm sitting next to somebody and I'm talking to them, I don't even know if we're taking off or landing," she said. A couple of rum and Cokes will do the same thing for about the same price, plus you don't have to talk to anyone but the flight attendant with the booze.

Actually, alcohol contributed to this lady’s worst flying experience – being seated next to a woman who was falling-down drunk first thing in the morning. But that's what she gets for sitting next to Jenna Bush.